The 2009 Racing Congress is in full swing in Las Vegas, and Trot Insider has a report on a pertinent idea raised by Dennis Robinson during a session this morning

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Robinson, president and CEO of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, operator of the Meadowlands Racetrack, renewed the familiar call for a central body to manage the horse racing industry continent-wide. He compared the setup to those of the profitable and popular major sporting leagues across North America.

"[The centralized leagues] negotiated national and international sponsorship deals. They are in charge of sales and marketing of the brand, rules and regulations. The survival of our sport depends on ceding some of our individual control," Robinson said.

He explained that the racing industry currently negotiates deals across the board rather then aggregately.

"No single entity controls our intellectual property, so all of our efforts are fragmented and disjointed," Robinson explained. "Are you willing to give up something now for the future or will you sit back and watch our industry erode?

"Now is the time to put egos aside."